Archfiends
The Archfiends , also known as Elemental Lords (Game Boy Advance), Four Fiends of the Elements (Super Nintendo and PlayStation), are a group of powerful elemental beings that serve Golbez in Final Fantasy IV. They consist of the Blighted Despot, Scarmiglione, the Drowned King, Cagnazzo, Empress of the Winds, Barbariccia, and Autarch of Flame, Rubicante. Story Final Fantasy IV The Archfiends are minions of Zemus, who placed them under the command of Golbez. As the strongest monsters under his control and the generals of his army, the Archfiends are dispatched against Cecil Harvey after he begins searching for a way to become a Paladin. Golbez sends Scarmiglione to Mount Ordeals to kill Cecil, as his undead were immune to Cecil's dark sword. With the assistance of Palom, Porom and Tellah, Cecil defeats Scarmiglione's zombies and himself, forcing him to reveal his true form as an undead. Cecil prevails and Scarmiglione plummets to his death. After returning to Baron, the King reveals his true form as Cagnazzo, who had killed the true king some time ago as part of Golbez's plan to take over the kingdom. With his last breath, Cagnazzo collapses the walls of the throne room's antechamber forcing Palom and Porom to petrify themselves to save Cecil. After agreeing to exchange the final Crystal Golbez needs for the life of Rosa Joanna Farrell, Cecil and his companions climb the Tower of Zot and defeat the Magus Sisters, minions of Barbariccia. After defeating them and confronting Golbez, Tellah forces him to retreat by unleashing Meteor, and both Rosa and Kain Highwind join Cecil. Barbariccia herself emerges to battle them, using strong winds to avoid many attacks. Through Kain's Jump attacks, Barbariccia's storms are overcome and she dies, collapsing the tower around her. Rubicante destroys Eblan whose survivors flee to the Cave of Eblan. With Golbez incapacitated after Meteor, and the subsequent battle at the Dwarven Castle, Cecil and his companions turn their attention to the Tower of Babil and retrieving the Crystals. In the underground portion of the tower, the party confronts Dr. Lugae, who told them Rubicante had moved the Crystals to the upper portion of the tower. After killing Lugae and returning to the surface, they enter the tower with the assistance of Edge and defeat Rubicante. The Archfiends are revived by Zemus in the Giant of Babil, in a final chance to redeem themselves and defeat Cecil. They fail and are again destroyed. Their malice survives, however, and can be battled as optional superboss Geryon. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years All four of the Archfiends are fought once again in the True Moon Subterrane. They were summoned from the dead by the Crystals, against their will. After each of them die they will thank the party, oddly showing a more benign side to themselves. If Golbez is in the party they will each recognize and speak with him, showing a great deal of respect as well as happiness. Rydia will note that each of them is as much a part of the world as themselves. Scarmiglione also claims to be a spirit of the land, implying that the Archfiends are living incarnations of the elements of Earth. Battle Scarmiglione (2D and 3D) is fought upon Mount Ordeals. Cagnazzo (2D and 3D) posed as the king of Baron before being fought inside Baron Castle. Barbariccia (2D and 3D) is fought after the defeat of the Magus Sisters in the Tower of Zot. Rubicante (2D and 3D) is fought in the Tower of Babil. The four Archfiends are fought a final time together in the Giant of Babil after Zemus raised them. Other appearances Final Fantasy The Archfiends appear in the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable remakes as optional bosses in Hellfire Chasm, one of the bonus dungeons for the remakes. Dissidia Final Fantasy and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy The Archfiends appear as summons. Their effects differ, but all are triggered by the use of the opponent's summon: After the opponent's summon is used, they instantly act. There are four equipment pieces named for the Archfiends—Barbariccia's Wristlet, Rubicante's Cowl, Cagnazzo's Carapace, and Scarmiglione's Fang. When all four are equipped, the wearer gains the "Elemental Archfiend" combination. In Dissidia 012, they also give the player tutorials in the Labyrinth. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy The four Archfiends appear as enemies. Pictlogica Final Fantasy The four Archfiends appear as enemies. Non-''Final Fantasy'' guest appearances Hanjuku Hero: Aa, Sekaiyo Hanjukunare...! A parody of the Four Archfiends from Final Fantasy IV makes an appearance in the 4th chapter of the game. The chapter number they appear in alludes to the number 4, their game's origin. The seasons have been stolen, and by defeating the Four Archfiends will return the seasons. They each have a castle, and are located on the four corners of the map. Sprimiglione , the Fiend of Spring is found in the northeast castle. Samakante , the Fiend of Summer is found in the southwest castle. Fallicia , the Fiend of Fall is found in the northwest castle. Winazzo , the Fiend of Winter is found in the southeast castle. Hanjuku Hero - Sprimiglione Field.png|Sprimiglione (Field) Hanjuku Hero - Samakante Field.png|Samakante (Field) Hanjuku Hero - Fallicia Field.png|Fallicia (Field) Hanjuku Hero - Winazzo Field.png|Winazzo (Field) Hanjuku Hero - Sprimiglione.png|Sprimiglione Hanjuku Hero - Samakante.png|Samakante Hanjuku Hero - Fallicia.png|Fallicia Hanjuku Hero - Winazzo.png|Winazzo Musical themes The battle theme that plays whenever fighting the Elemental Archfiends is called "Battle with Golbez's Four Emperors". Gallery Scarmiglione-FFIV-Amano.jpg|Scarmiglione Caignazzo.jpg|Cagnazzo Barbariccia-FFIV.jpg|Barbariccia Rubicante.jpg|Rubicante Scarmiglione_DoS.png|''Dawn of Souls'' artwork of Scarmiglione. Cagnazzo_DoS.png|''Dawn of Souls'' artwork of Cagnazzo. Barbariccia_DoS.png|''Dawn of Souls'' artwork of Barbariccia. Rubicante_DoS.png|''Dawn of Souls'' artwork of Rubicante. Scarmiglione2 psp.png|Scarmiglione as he appears in Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection. Cagnazzo psp.png|Cagnazzo as he appears in Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection. Barbariccia PSP.png|Barbariccia as she appears in Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection. Rubicante PSP.png|Rubicante as he appears in Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy IV: Complete Collection. Theatrhythm Scarmiglione.png|Scarmiglione's appearance in Theatrhythm. Theatrhythm Cagnazzo.png|Cagnazzo's appearance in Theatrhythm. Theatrhythm Barbariccia.png|Barbariccia's appearance in Theatrhythm. Theatrhythm Rubicante.png|Rubicante's appearance in Theatrhythm. Etymology The four Archfiends are named after four of the twelve named Malebranches in the 8th Circle of Hell, the Malebolge, from Dante's Divine Comedy. In particular, "barba riccia" is Italian for "curly beard," an obviously male attribute; despite this, the Archfiend Barbariccia is the only one with clear female features. Calcabrina and Farfarello are derived from Malebranches as well. Trivia * Every Archfiend has two different battle sprites. * Hanjuku Hero: Aa, Sekaiyo Hanjukunare...!, a Square RPG for the Super Famicom, features a parody of the Final Fantasy IV Archfiends. * The Archfiends appear in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy as tutors in the in-game manual. They explain how to use the Labyrinth game mode. * Golbez's Four Elemental Archfiends allude to Chaos's Four Fiends from the original Final Fantasy. de:Elementarfürst it:Arcidiavoli elementali ru:Архидемоны Category:Final Fantasy IV Category:Antagonists Category:Characters in Final Fantasy IV